


What Used to Be

by Highlander_II



Series: kink_bingo: 2011 [14]
Category: Priest (2011)
Genre: Community: kink_bingo, Gen, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-23
Updated: 2011-08-23
Packaged: 2017-10-22 23:39:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/243849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highlander_II/pseuds/Highlander_II
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of the Priests remembers the past and looks to the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Used to Be

Most people avoid us. Push themselves to the corner of the elevators, cross to the other side of the street. Stare at their feet when they pass. We're pariah. Unwanted. Unwelcome.

It wasn't always like this. We were once revered. Our presence desired. Needed. We were heroes of a kind. We protected the people from the monsters. The vampires.

We could walk the streets with pride. Wear our brandings with honor. There was no need to hide our faces beneath cloaks and hoods.

Those were the days when we could see children playing in the streets having drawn the mark of the Priests on their faces play-acting at the war.

Those were the days when mothers and fathers would watch their children to see if they might have inherited the gifts. When being a priest was a noble occupation.

Those were the days when being branded with the tattoo meant something good. Positive. Those days have been gone for a very long time.

Though if what we've heard is true, there may be hope yet. We don't wish for a return of the vampires. What we wish for is the return of our usefulness. We have more to offer the world than taking up space and towing the line.

There are stories of cities where the sun still shines. We often wonder if these stories are true. And if they are, is there hope for the restoration of the sunlight to our city. That might restore the hope of the people and allow the Piests to live amonst them as we once did.

We could live amongst them now if not for the mark of the Priest on our faces. The mark is not shameful, but rather a symbol of status and gifts. However, it does cause us to stand out among the masses. That used to be a good thing.

I remember the day I received my tattoo. It was a momentous occaision for me. I was nervous and excited both. This mark would be a symbol of my contribution to the war against the vampires. I would be fulfilling my duty to my church and my fellow man to make our world a better place.

There was such great ambition then. I felt a power course though me as the tattoo was inked onto my skin. Those memories are still fond to me. Even as new ones have been added to the catalog. I don't regret my decision to take my place among the Priests. I only regret the outcome of decisions others have made since the end of the war.

We, the Priests, still hope we can return to our former status in the community and be regarded, once again, as soldiers of a worthy cause. There will be much to do if the vampires have truly rebuilt their army and the Priests will be needed more than ever.

We do not relish these necessary acts of aggression. We do them because they are required to maintain the human life on our planet. To maintain order. To live.


End file.
